Why did Ambedkar hold the celebration on March 20, 1927?- On this very day of 20th March,2018, the Supreme court verdict on SC ST Act was pronounced. Is there a method in this contradiction thru this judgment?This is in stark contrast with which when the CBI/Supreme Court/Govt were quick to hear petition of Padmavat movie, or arrest of Kartik Chidambaram or sentence of punishment on Lalu on Fodder cases, soon after an election result or a protest or an arrival at an airport? It was evident, that the judiciary and CBI was being misused or atleast perceived to be misused. Whereas in a case like this, why there was a delay in filing a review petition within 24 hours or why no ordinance was initiated by the law minister? It only shows that the Govt was not serious, atleast perceived to be not serious.

There has been a method underlying the whole process. Take 20 years ago. It was 20 years ago that the privatisation and outsourcing trend started in this country – first mooted by IT firms to get outsourced contracts from various govts. This way, employment was denied to the SC STs. SC ST act and rules were tweaked to deny SC ST candidates jobs in various organizations. Reluctance of the private sector to provide reservation of jobs only reinforced this trend. On the one hand, we see a judicial activism to dilute the SC ST Act, on the other, we see a business process of outsourcing to deny jobs specially to the SC STs. This being the situation, a sentiment was building up from the ground level. In the name of productivity and development, tiers of managerial levels have been pruned. An entry level employee will remain as such even after 40 years of service. What more atrocities do you need in an organization?

Today we have created security men, delivery boys, and call centre answering persons – In the name of entrepreneurship, jobs have been deprived. Even in IT firms, HR functions are outsourced.   If industrialisation and IT operations reduce employement, they dont serve the national cause of decent employment generation. They only add to the coffers of the trade and business.

Added to these woes are the work culture and corporate policies in vogue today. Today, we find professionals work from morning 8 am to 11 pm at night. No employee is allowed to share his salary details with his or her colleagues. In many organisations, the lady employees are forced to resign the moment she announces her pregnancy. There is a total barbaric exploitation of the youth today in the corporates. It is simple common sense that you need additional hands, if an emplyoee has to work beyond 8 hours a day.

Indirectly the corporate sector is denying employment opportunities. A country like India , having a population of 125 crores of people, and where the number of educated youth are growing, need to have high employment opportunities  through effective policies on employement generation and create opportunities for employment. This is very serious and alarming.

By ignoring and suppressing Dalits, the national parties actually helped the regional parties. The dalits flocked to the regional parties. These regional aspirations are expressing their voice across the country. The Dalit Bandh across the country is a pointer to this, notwithstanding the different perceptions on the bandh by different political parties.

Already the farmers of the country are debt ridden, land denied, cost reimbursement denied in every state. Their lands are taken over by big industry and business in the name of development with no compensation. There is an urgent need to reorient it in the National budget. As 70% of its population is engaged in agriculture and reside in the rural india, the Budget must be geared to utilize the agricultural land to the maximum, provide affordable agricultural inputs and support the farmer with one and half times the cost of the production as recommended by the eminent and one and only Dr.MS Swaminathan.

Similarly, the exploitation of the industry and business dabbling in agribusiness and products must be regulated to ensure that that ratio of the cost of agricultural production and the end consumer  product shouldnot exceed 1:1.5 ratio. This is where the Govt machinery comes into picture. Besides, 2% of the price of every consumer product sold, should be ploughed back to agriculture and apportioned to the 500 districts.  Consumerism has no meaning unless portion of the revenue generated is ploughed back to agriculture directly. Hence this  idea of ploughing back two percent to the agriculture. Agricultural subsidies and fertiliser subsidies need to be directly disbursed to the districts in proportion to the level of the agricultural activities and production. Unless this happens, the farmer continues to lag in poverty and doomed to failure.   And together, the dalits, tribals and farmers constitute more than 80 % of the population – irrespective of their religious affiliation. This is really alarming. What is happening goes far beyond politics and religion– Its is about economic and social progress, educational opportunities and sustainable employement followed by affordable housing, gender empowerment and economic opportunities and technological divide. This is the hard core reality that is striking 80% of our population. A lopsided rural and urban divide. A lopsided urban divide between the haves and havenots and a heavily skewed technologicial and digital divide. All other issues are irrelevant ,illusory, ill advised.

Signifacance of 20th March for the Dalits

As per Wiki information (courtesy Wiki), Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was a satyagraha led by Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad (currently in Raigad district), Maharashtra, India.[1] The day (20 March) observed as Social Empowerment day in India. By the Indian caste system, untouchables (Dalits) were segregated from the caste Hindus. They were banned from using water bodies and roads which were used by caste Hindus. In August 1923, Bombay Legislative Council passed a resolution that people from the depressed classes should be allowed to use places which were built and maintained by the Government.[2] In January 1924, Mahad which was part of the Bombay Province passed the resolution in its municipal council to enforce the act. But it was failed to implement because of the protest from the caste Hindus. In 1927, Ambedkar decided to launch a satyagraha (nonviolent resistance) to assert their rights to use water in the public places.

Mahad, a town in Konkan, was selected for the event because it had a nucleus of support from ‘caste hindus’. These included A.V.Chitre, an activist from the Marathi Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu(CKP) community; G.N.Sahasrabudhe, a Chitpawan Brahmin of the Social Service League and Surendranath Tipnis, a CKP who was president of the Mahad municipality.[3]

Surendranath Tipnis, the president of the Mahad municipality declared its public spaces open to untouchables and invited Ambedkar to hold a meeting at Mahad in 1927.[4]. After the meeting, they proceeded to the ‘Chowder tank’.[5] Ambedkar drank water from the tank and thousands of untouchables followed him.[5][4]

Dr.Ambedkar also made a statement addressing the Dalit women during the Satyagraha. He asked them to abandon all old customs that provided recognizable markers of untouchability and asked them to wear saris like high caste women. Before that time, the Dalit women were not allowed to drape saris completely. Immediately after Ambedkar’s speech at Mahad, the dalit women readily decided to drape their saris like the higher caste women. ‘Radical’ upper caste women namely Lakshmibai Tipnis and Indirabia Chitre helped the Dalit women dress like ‘upper caste women’ by covering the legs of the dalit women down to their ankles.[6]

A riot broke out following a rumour that Ambedkar and his followers were planning to enter a Hindu temple in the town. And the caste Hindus purified the tank by performing puja, argued that untouchables polluted the tank by taking water from it.[2]

Dr.Ambedkar decided to hold the second conference in Mahad on 26-27 December 1927. But caste Hindus filed a case against him that tank as a private property.[7] He was not able to continue his satyagraha as the case was sub judice.

On 25 December (Manusmriti Dahan Din), G.N Shastrabuddhe under the guidance of Ambedkar, burnt Manusmriti, a Hindu law book, as a protest.In December 1937, the Bombay High Court ruled that untouchables have the right to use water from the tank.[8] [6]

Struggle to access water by Dalit still continues. Access to water is still denied to Dalits at many places and are beaten or killed many times if they try to drink water from the forbidden places (courtesy Wiki).